The theme of this year’s Festival of the Senses in Clinton Township is Listen to Your Heart -- a slogan that speaks well of the annual fall-welcoming event.

The heart, after all, is the most important organ in the human body, the epicenter of our spiritual and emotional existence. While the mind is a brilliant and complicated organ capable of incredible things, it’s the heart that shepherds so many of our actions.

Art starts from the heart. While the brain may dictate the strokes, the notes or the moves, it’s the heart that inspires and appreciates.

Advertisement

This is evident by the heartfelt work of the artists who will present their canvases of color, music, dance and more, during the Festival of the Senses, spread out on the serene park-like setting of Clinton Township’s Civic Center campus on Romeo Plank at Canal.

Now in its sixth year, the festival has developed its own identity.

As autumn sets in, this more reflective, sedate event featuring two days of free music and entertainment for families has earned its place on the festival calendar.

“More than ever, I had people calling me asking to be included,” said Mary Ann Hosey, chairwoman of the event’s planning committee. “That hasn’t happened in the past and it struck me – we have developed an identity, a reputation. And people are noticing what we’re doing.”

It’s a true arts festival, which typically attracts up to 10,000 people enjoying the works of 100 Michigan-bred artists, food vendors, and entertainers ranging from colorful world dancers to highly-disciplined ballerinas.

There’s also a look back at history with the township’s expansive Historic Village and The Regulars Baseball Club of Mount Clemens re-enacting the way baseball was played in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

There are all kinds of things to see, do, hear and taste.

Artists in every medium will be on hand including textile, painting, photography, sculpture, woodworking and metal.

Also, the Detroit Institute of Arts will be on hand with drop-in workshops for kids (and their parents) to explore and express their inner artistic capabilities, along with four DIA artworks for viewing.

All of these activities are presented for free, thanks to the benevolence of more than two dozen local businesses and service providers including Jim Riehl Friendly Automotive Group, Renewal by Anderson, Henry Ford Macomb Hospital and other festival sponsors.

As they’ve done in the past, festival organizers will donate some proceeds to three local charities. In the past five years, Festival of the Senses has returned almost $20,000 to community organizations.

Those efforts -- from lining up the artists and food vendors, to the volunteers to the charitable giving – all come from the heart in Clinton Township.

Listen to Your Heart at the Festival of the Senses. You’ll like what you hear.